Sand-barge.



0. G. WEST. SAND BARGEF APPLICATION FILED 1120.14, x011.

Patented Aug. 4, 1914.

f2 06/! for:

.M %wwm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES 0. WEST, OF MANITOWOG, WISCONSIN, ASSIGNOR TO MANITOWOC SHIP BUILDING- & DRY DOCK COMPANY, OF MANITOWOG, WISCONSIN, A CORPORATION OF WISCONSIN.

SAND-BARGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 14, 1911. Serial No. 665,714.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES C. ll ns'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at bilanitowoc, in the county of lWIanitowoc and State of \Visconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Sand- Barge, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates generally to an improved method of unloading barges containing sand or other material, and more particularly to improved means whereby sand dredged from the bed of a body of water and dumped into a barge may be quickly unloaded therefrom; the provision of improved means by which the sand in the hopper of the barge gravitates toward a localizing receptacle from which the sand may be readily transferred to the dock; and the provision of localizing means in the barge where in unloading therefrom, shifting of the unloading mechanism is obviated. The above as well as such other objects as may hereinafter appear or are incidental to my invention, 1 attain by a construction illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure l is a longitudinal section of a barge embodying my invention.

Figure 2 is a section on the line II-II of Figure 1.

in the application of my invention as shown in the drawings the main feature reates to the improved means whereby the sand dumped into the hopper of a barge is economically and quickly unloaded. This has been accomplished by localizing the sand, (which has been loaded indiscriminately into the hopper bins and consequently is difficult to unload) into a common receptacle, which is readily accessible to unloading mechanism situated either in the barge or on a dock where the barge is tied up for unloading.

Referring specifically to the drawings it will be seen that in carrying out my invention I provide the barge or lighter 2 with a hopper 3, the hopper-being sub-divided into two or more bins 4; and 4. Situated in one of the ends of the hold, preferably at the forward end, I have provided a tank 5, ad jacent the upper edge of which is mounted an overflow pipe 6 which opens overboard from the tank. Connecting the hopper and the tank is a main pipe 7 provided with as much fall as is permissible and situated in the main hold suspended underneath the hopper. The upper end of this main pipe 7 connects with the bin 4 at 8 furnishing an outlet from the bin to the tank, and the lower end of the main pipe enters the tank 5 at the point 9. A control valve 10 is provided in the main pipe adjacent the tank.

At intermediate points along the length of the main pipe are arranged supplementary feed pipes 11. and 12, the upper extremities of which connect to the bins 4t and 4 on opposite sides thereof and the lower ends connect to the main pipe as shown in Figure 2. These pipes are all disposed at an angle to the plane of the bins and are so arranged and distributed that material in Patented Aug. 4, 1914.

the bins can be reached and tapped at all points and quickly carried down through the pipes to the tank.

Projecting into the tank is a suction pump 13, the operating means for which may be positioned either in the barge or on the dock. Should the former be the situation, then the pump can readily perform both operations of loading and unloading the barge. The utilization of a pump as the unloading means is not arbitrary, as any other suit-' 1 but little fluidity. \Vith the addition of a relatively small quantity of water applied on the top of the bins of sand by the pump 14, the sand at once becomes semi-fluid and will readily run by force of gravity through a pipe having a suitable fall. The hopper being divided into compartments tends to materially assist in rendering the material semi-fluid by restricting the surface move ment of the added water. The resultant mixture flows down through the main pipe 7 which lies at sufficient angle, being supplied through the several feed pipes which lead to the main pipe 7, and thence into the tank 5. While the unloading mechanism is in operation a continuous flow from the bins to the tank is insured until all the material has been removed from the bins and the tank emptied of its contents.

There are usually two modes employed in unloading sand or similar material from barges onto a dock, either by buckets or flights on a belt, or by means of a centrifugal pump. Should the former be used then the tank 5 can be utilized as a settling tank as sand will quickly settle when the mixture is quiescent, after which the excess may be carried overboard by the overflow pipe 6 or reutilized. If theinode of unloading should be by means of a pump then the resultant mixture in the tank need not be allowed to settle, but retained in a semi-liquid condition and at once pumped onto the dock where the water will find its natural drainage outlet. By localizing the sand in the manner described a continuous head over the suction of the centrifugal pump is insured. In employing the methods now in use by pumping directly from the bins, or otherwise, the pumps cannot possibly obtain such a continuous head over the suction and consequently aresultant break in the suction occurs, or again in using the buckets for unloading, the necessity of constantly changing the position of the unloading means and the shifting of mechanism is always present. These undesirable features are entirely obviated by my improved mechanism.

I do not intend to restrict myself to the exact embodiment as disclosed in the preferred construction, as it is obvious that certain structural variations may be made, such as for example, the supplementary feed pipes which are shown arranged opposite each other on both sides of the center line, may be arranged. alternately with respect to each other. Any such or similar variations as this are deemed within the scope of my invention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is the following 1. A sand barge comprising in combina tion, a hopper provided with containing bins, a receiving tank at one end of the hopper, a main pipe arranged longitudinally of the barge between one of the bins and the receiving tank, and lateral supply pipes leading from the bins to the main pipe, all of the said pipes being disposed at an angle relative to the plane of the bins.

2. In a barge, the combination of a hopper provided with containing bins, a receiving tank at one end of the hopper, a main pipe arranged longitudinally of the barge between one of the bins and the receiving tank, and lateral supply pipes leading from the bins to the main pipe, all of the said pipes being disposed at an angle relative to the plane of the bins, and an overflow pipe leading from the tank substantially as described.

23. A sand barge comprising in combination a sand containing hopper, a localizing receptacle in the barge and located below the plane of the hopper, a pipe connection extending between the hopper and the localizing receptacle and beneath said hopper, said pipe being disposed at an inclination whereby the sand gravitates into the receptacle, and means adapted for elevating the sand out of the receptacle to unload the barge.

4L. A sand barge comprising in combination a sand containing hopper, a localizing receptacle located below the plane of the hopper and adjacent one side of the hopper, a conduit disposed centrally of the barge for conveying the sand from the hopper to the receptacle, and lateral branch pipes extending between the hopper and the conduit for tapping the load at points on either side of the median line of the hopper.

5. A. sand bargecomprising asand containing hopper provided with an outlet formed in its base, a localizing receptacle in the barge having an inlet opening in its wall disposed to one side of and belowthe axis of the outlet opening, and a pipe connection between the outlet and inlet and forming a conduit for the passage of the sand to the receptacle, said conduit being disposed lengthwise of the barge and beneath the hopper.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name in the presence of the two subscribing witnesses.

CHARLES C. WVEST.

Witnesses:

W. L. VVALLAcn, Jno. LULL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents.

Washington, D. G. 

